The Latest News from “Webster Towers”!

How much comic content does an event need to have before it can call itself a “Comic Con” and what should count as “comic content”? It’s a very heated discussion within the UK indie comic scene at the moment as we see more shows crop up than ever before. Some of these events have heavily advertised TV and movie guests, as well as replica Batmobiles, DeLoreans and Game of Thrones… thrones, while having very few, if any, comic creators, back issue sellers and actual comic books and graphic novels. This has left a sour taste in the mouths of many creators who feel that the title “Comic Con” has become an umbrella term for nerd and geek culture events. I can’t help but wonder why that seems to be the current state of play and I’ve certainly seen frustrations from both convention organisers and artists. Naturally, I am somewhat biased as a creator but I’m going to try and be as objective as possible. What’s Gotten People Angry? As previously mentioned, several events which have labelled themselves as Comic Cons have had very little to do with comics. I’m going to show some specific examples, though I have obscured usernames, avatars, etc. as I have no intention of starting a witch hunt. I must also stress that I am not commenting on the quality of these shows. Here’s a convention organiser admitting, on their Twitter account, that they don’t read comics apart from the Beano. Their event has “Comic Con” in the title. As you can imagine, this caused quite a stir, with the main question simply being “How can you run... read more

This is a post I debated putting up, however after thinking about it I think this information needs to be out there for the benefit of: Aspiring and existing indie comic artists, Consumers, fans and con-goers, Convention organisers and staff. This post will talk, very frankly, about the costs of creating and selling independent comic books in the UK. Prices will be in GBP and based upon my personal experiences, as well as conversations I’ve had with other creators. In the best interests of all involved there will be absolute anonymity. Additionally, this posts aims to be positive, proactive and, where it does highlight problems, suggest solutions. Let’s go! How much does it cost to sell at a convention? The cost of appearing at a convention varies wildly from show to show. There are also multiple costs involved. Below, I’ve broken down the common, recurring, costs that apply to pretty much every convention (yes, some conventions have costs unique to them) as well as the most and least I have ever personally spent on that item. After talking about the costs, I’ll talk about how I decide whether those costs are reasonable. Table Most conventions supply a 6ft by 2ft table, though you need to bring your own tablecloth. You’ll be charged for table hire and use of the space around your table. The least I’ve ever paid was £0, yes I’ve had a ‘free’ table before although it was on a condition that I run 2 panels over the course of the convention lasting at least 1 hour each and appear on a 3rd panel which was basically... read more

Joe Cape 3 launched at Melksham Comic Con and people are loving the new issue, which completes the first arc of the series! For those of you who can’t make any of the conventions I’m attending, there’s good news! I’ve set up an online store through Etsy! You can order all 3 issues of Joe Cape there and I’ll be adding my art prints in the near future! I’ve also added a Store link to this very website that’ll take you straight to the Etsy... read more